Deadline: 21-May-21
The Creative Ireland Programme in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is delighted to announce the launch of Creative Climate Action Fund seeks to Spark Imaginations.
Creative Climate Action is looking for proposals which can use creative and artistic approaches to transform connection and awareness into climate action and behaviour change.
The challenge will be to spark imaginations and to make tangible what ‘carbon footprints’ and ‘climate action’ really mean for individuals and communities.
The arts, culture, heritage and wider creative communities have a vital role to play in bringing the urgency of this challenge to the forefront; in imagining, communicating and building a sustainable future; and in encouraging and facilitating action and change at all levels of society.
Areas of Impact
Within the broader theme of climate action there are a number of areas which have been identified as having the biggest impact on carbon emissions. These areas or ‘themes’ form the basis of the National Dialogue on Climate Action consultation. They encourage applicants to consider one or more of these areas or themes in their proposals, however this is not essential and the information below is for guidance and inspiration only. They also welcome applications that take a holistic view on the climate action and system, lifestyle and behaviour changes.
- Home: Irish homes have one of the largest carbon footprints in Europe. How they heat their homes is one of the key sources of these emissions, particularly when they have fossil fuel (oil and gas) boilers or coal and peat fires, as well as the way they use the energy to power our homes and appliances.
- Travel: How they travel is one of the main areas where behaviour change can have a rapid and real impact on achieving our climate goals. In 2019, over 20% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions were generated by transport according to the EPA, and in Ireland, travelrelated emissions is the only area actually increasing, largely driven by private cars and flights.
- Food: It takes a lot of resources to put food on the tables. Growing, processing and transporting food all use large amounts of energy and materials, and when food is wasted, these resources are wasted too. Looking at the food eat, choosing a low carbon diet, and reducing the food waste could reduce our personal and family carbon footprint.
- Shopping and recycling: Everything we buy and use has carbon emissions embedded in the processes of manufacture, use and disposal. This includes clothing, food, consumer electronic products, cosmetics and household cleaners, cars, services and materials such as concrete.
- Our Local Climate and Environment: Ireland also has an abundance of natural resources, from our bogs and forests, to our rivers and oceans. These natural resources need to be protected from climate change, and in return, they will help us by absorbing carbon, reducing the risk of flooding, increasing flowers and wildlife, and acting as places for them all to reconnect with nature.
Funding Information
Applicants are welcome to apply for funding from €30,000 to €200,000 to realise their creative vision and their public engagement work. They expect to fund between 10 and 20 projects which can run until the end of 2022. This will be determined by the number and scale of applications received.
Eligibility Criteria
- The fund is open to a wide variety of artforms and mediums across the creative and cultural sectors, including dance, film, literature, music, opera, architecture, street arts and spectacle, theatre, traditional arts, visual arts, cultural heritage, architecture, circus, libraries, museums, design of all kinds, animation and games, the audiovisual sector, publishing and fashion.
- Applications are invited along two strands.
- Creative and climate organisations, NGOs, charities, enterprises, institutions, or collectives/networks with the capacity to work with creative and cultural practitioners.
- Local authorities individually, or in collaboration with other local authorities or with external partners, who can connect with and support creative and cultural practitioners.
- They strongly encourage collaborative proposals which bring together stakeholders from across the arts and creative industries, climate change and environmental NGOs, education, science and civil society sectors, and offer creative, innovative and interdisciplinary solutions.
For more information, visit https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/news/creative-climate-action-fund-seeks-to-spark-imaginations/